The Dynamics of Abundance-Range Size Relationships

Gaston, Kevin J.; Curnutt, John L.

doi:10.2307/3546465

Cited by 55 publications

(56 citation statements)

References 33 publications

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“…Snakes also confirmed the theory that rarity is often associated with large body size, but with subtle differences from other animal types (i.e., very small species are also often rare in snake communities). I also demonstrated that snakes may be useful in testing whether species with narrower realized niches are more likely to be rare or very rare (as predicted by Gaston 1996 andCurnutt 1998). This study, however, contradicts previous research on birds indicating that rare species are typically those that are phylogenetically primitive.…”

Section: Discussioncontrasting

confidence: 51%

“…(3) Are rare snake species characterized by narrow realized ecological niches and high degrees of specialization (Gaston 1996, Gaston andCurnutt 1998)? (4) Do rare species typically belong to phylogenetically old and/or primitive taxa (Cotgreave and Pagel 1997)? That is: are some phylogenetically primitive families overrepresented in the samples of rare species?…”

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confidence: 99%

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Testing hypotheses on the ecological patterns of rarity using a novel model of study: snake communities worldwide

Luiselli

2006

Web Ecol.

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The theoretical and empirical causes and consequences of rarity are of central importance for both ecological theory and conservation. It is not surprising that studies of the biology of rarity have grown tremendously during the past two decades, with particular emphasis on patterns observed in insects, birds, mammals, and plants. I analyse the patterns of the biology of rarity by using a novel model system: snake communities worldwide. I also test some of the main hypotheses that have been proposed to explain and predict rarity in species. I use two operational definitions for rarity in snakes: Rare species (RAR) are those that accounted for 1% to 2% of the total number of individuals captured within a given community; Very rare species (VER) account for ≤1% of individuals captured. I analyse each community by sample size, species richness, continent, climatic region, habitat and ecological characteristics of the RAR and VER species. Positive correlations between total species number and the fraction of RAR and VER species and between sample size and rare species in general were found. As shownin previous insect studies, there is a clear trend for the percentage of RAR and VER snake species to increase in species-rich, tropical African and South American communities. This study also shows that rare species are particularly common in the tropics, although habitat type did not influence the frequency of RAR and VER species. This analysis also confirms the commonly accepted ecological hypothesis that body size and rarity are clearly and widely correlated in natural animal communities. However, in snake communities there is often an association between large and small species among the rare species, and a tendency for ophiophagous species to be rare. In addition, there was no support for the hypothesis that rare species should be typically phylogenetically primitive. The hypothesis that species with narrower realized ecological niches are more likely to be rare or very rare is supported by the evidence presented here on snake communities. In general, this study shows that snakes may make ”model organisms” for studies on the biology of rarity

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Section: Discussioncontrasting

confidence: 51%

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confidence: 99%

Testing hypotheses on the ecological patterns of rarity using a novel model of study: snake communities worldwide

Luiselli

2006

Web Ecol.

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“…Previous examination of intraspecific relationships demonstrated inconsistent support for the hypothesis that species showing wide variation in abundance or distribution are more likely to exhibit stronger intraspecific relationships (Gaston & Curnutt 1998, Gaston et al 1998a. However, it is still hypothesized that a narrow range of variation in these measures may, in part, contribute to the lack of significant intraspecific relationships (Gaston et al 2000).…”

Section: Species and Variablesmentioning

confidence: 97%

“…For example, such areas would be ideal locations for MPAs. Exploration of this prediction with bird species has reported equivocal support for the core-areas idea (Curnutt et al 1996, Gaston & Curnutt 1998. However, Hutchings (1996) demonstrated the susceptibility of the widespread northern cod stock to decline from overfishing and his analysis indicated that high-density tows (> 500 kg biomass) remained constant through time in the trawl surveys, while declines in all tows of lower density were occurring.…”

Section: Intraspecific Relationshipsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Abundance-distribution relationships and conservation of exploited marine fishes

Fisher¹,

Frank²

2004

Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser.

114

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The effects of human exploitation on macroecological patterns have received little attention, although such investigations may highlight unique spatial and temporal changes characteristic of species and assemblages subject to persistent disturbance. In unexploited systems (mainly among temperate avifauna) positive relationships between local abundance and geographic distribution are prevalent for individual species through time (intraspecific pattern) and among species during fixed time periods (interspecific pattern). We investigated intraspecific and interspecific relationships for 24 common marine fishes on the Scotian Shelf and Bay of Fundy, Canada, some of which have been commercially exploited for several decades. Based on extensive fisheries-independent trawl survey data from 1970 to 2001, 16 of the 34 stocks, comprising 13 species, exhibited significant positive intraspecific relationships. Significant relationships were associated mainly with those stocks that demonstrated significant temporal trends in both abundance and geographic distribution. The time-averaged (32 yr) interspecific relationship was positive and significant at the largest scale examined. Significant annual interspecific relationships were also detected over 26 yr. Surprisingly, the slopes of the annual relationships increased systematically and doubled through time, probably due to size-selective exploitation, shifting target species, and associated species interactions. In contrast to previous studies, our results indicate that the contributions of individual species to the interspecific relationship can change through time, and these changes dramatically alter the interspecific abundance-distribution relationship. Temporal trends in the interspecific relationship have not previously been reported, and appear to be due to the large spatial-and temporal-scale effects of exploitation.

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“…Las especies más grandes suelen tener menores tamaños poblacionales en regiones geográficas amplias (Gaston & Curnutt, 1998;, Gregory & Gaston, 2000, ser localmente menos densas (Damuth, 1981;Peters & Realson, 1984;Damuth, 1991;Tellería & Carrascal, 1994;Marquet et al, 1995;ver no obstante Maurer & Brown, 1988;Blackburn et al, 1990;Cotgreave, 1994;Marquet et al, 1995), y ocupar hábitats estructuralmente más simples (Morse et al, 1985;Hacker & Steneck, 1990;Shorrocks et al, 1991;Polo & Carrascal, 1999). Carrascal & Lobo (2003) analizan la variación interespecífica del área de distribución geográfica de las Aves de la Península Ibérica durante el periodo reproductor.…”

Section: Bases Ecológicas De La Rareza Y De La Propensión a Presentarunclassified

Rareza, estatus de conservación y sus determinantes ecológicos. Revisión de su aplicación a escala regional

Carrascal¹,

Palomino²

2006

GRAELLSIA

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RESUMENEn este trabajo se efectúa una revisión crítica sobre la rareza ecológica, las categorí-as de amenaza de las especies y la definición de su estatus de conservación. En la aplicación de los criterios cuantitativos para establecer categorías de amenaza existen numerosos problemas lógicos asociados con la conservación de la biodiversidad, bioló-gicos relacionados con la historia natural de las especies y metodológicos vinculados a aspectos de diseño científico y fiabilidad de los datos. No sería recomendable crear categorías que definan el estatus de amenaza a escalas nacional o regional cuando los datos utilizados sean pura especulación. Esto es especialmente preocupante cuando la rareza a escala regional venga motivada por aspectos puramente biogeográficos (e.g., poblaciones en bordes de distribución). Se proponen alternativas para la aplicación de criterios definitorios de estatus de conservación a escala regional (p.e., nacional o comunidades autónomas). Palabras clave: rareza, catalogación regional de amenaza, bases ecológicas, estatus de conservación. SUMMARY Rarity, conservation status and their ecological basis. Scientific background and utility of application of red list criteria at regional levelsThis work reviews the relationships among the ecological basis of rarity, threat categories of species and the definition of their conservation status. When applying quantitative criteria to establish threat categories, there are many logical problems dealing with biodiversity conservation, biological problems dealing with the natural history of the species, and methodological problems linked to scientific design and reliability of the data; these limitations are assessed. It is not advisable to determine national or regional categories of threat when depending on speculative data without scientific credibility. This should be particularly worrying if regional rarity is based on purely biogeographical aspects (e.g., populations at the edges of total distribution ranges). Several alternatives are proposed to apply criteria determining the regional threat status.

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The Dynamics of Abundance-Range Size Relationships

Cited by 55 publications

References 33 publications

Testing hypotheses on the ecological patterns of rarity using a novel model of study: snake communities worldwide

Testing hypotheses on the ecological patterns of rarity using a novel model of study: snake communities worldwide

Abundance-distribution relationships and conservation of exploited marine fishes

Rareza, estatus de conservación y sus determinantes ecológicos. Revisión de su aplicación a escala regional

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